Stevenson, Robert Louis. THE ISLE OF VOICES and Other Stories. (1882-1893; this edition, 2007). ****. It’s always a pleasure to start off a quarterly reading campaign with a good book. Stevenson was a master of the short story, and published three volumes of collections in his lifetime: “New Arabian Nights” (1882), “The Merry Men and Other Tales and Fables” (1887), and “Island Night’s Entertainments” (1893). This selection by The Folio Society (illustrated by Michael Foreman) brings together eigStevenson, Robert Louis. THE ISLE OF VOICES and Other Stories. (1882-1893; this edition, 2007). ****. It’s always a pleasure to start off a quarterly reading campaign with a good book. Stevenson was a master of the short story, and published three volumes of collections in his lifetime: “New Arabian Nights” (1882), “The Merry Men and Other Tales and Fables” (1887), and “Island Night’s Entertainments” (1893). This selection by The Folio Society (illustrated by Michael Foreman) brings together eight stories from those volumes and also includes two stories that were previously uncollected. I also found it helpful that they included a Scots Glossary. (That also comes in handy for crossword puzzle fans.) From the “New Arabian Nights,” we have the following: “Providence and the Guitar,” and “The Pavilion of the Links.” From “The Merry Men,” are included “Will O’ the Mill,” “Thrawn Janet,” “The Merry Men,” and “Olalla.” From “Island Nights,” we have “The Bottle Imp,” and “The Isle of Voices.” Finally, there are the two uncollected stories, “An Old Song,” and “The Misadventures of John Nicholson.” Much of Stevenson’s writing is of the tortuous Victorian style that takes a while getting used to, but is well worth the effort. He is also the master of the semicolon. You would be hard pressed to find a sentence constructed without one. All of that aside, he had a boundless imagination and a great skill at depecting character and setting. His best efforts, for me, are those stories that skirt or fully dip into the world of the fantastic. He was at his best telling about evil forces afoot in the world, whether they were visible or invisible, human or fantastic. If you’ve not read any of Stevenson’s stories, this volume would be a good place to start. Recommended....more

Robert Louis (Balfour) Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.

Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is oRobert Louis (Balfour) Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.

Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.

On December 3rd, 1894, he died of an apparent cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 44.